The most common causes include conflict aggression, fear-based, defensive aggression, status related aggression, possessive aggression, food guarding aggression and redirected aggression.
Do not wait for someone to be bitten. If your dog does any of the following, it's time to look for expert help in person: Growls, barks, snarls, snaps or lunges at people on walks. Shows aggression toward visitors to your home.
Fear or anxiety related aggression is perhaps the most common form of aggression in dogs. In reality most types of aggression listed above, except for predatory and disease related aggression, likely have a fear or anxiety component.
While puppies may be playful, it is essential for all breeds, but especially for Australian Shepherds due to their strong herding instinct. Aussies may become frightened or aggressive when they encounter unexpected people or animals if they are not properly socialized. Australian Shepherds require training as well.
Also called sudden onset aggression, rage syndrome is a neurological disorder, not a temperament defect or training/socialization problem. Affected dogs go into a kind of seizure that makes them attack anyone or anything that happens to be in the vicinity.
Plenty of socialization, ideally from a young age, exercise, and mental stimulation on a daily basis are also key to avoiding the possibility of aggressive behavior from your Aussie.
Straight off the bat you should be correcting your dog's growling and/or snapping with a firm “no” at the onset of the behavior. When he stops growling, reward him with a “good boy”, or in the beginning, a treat if it's handy at the exact moment of training so that he knows what he is being rewarded for.
Aggression in Dogs Never Really Goes Away
While this seems like grim news, it's important for pet owners to understand that dog aggression never goes away. Once pet owners are empowered with this knowledge, they can positively change the majority of their dog's aggressive behavior.
Certain breeds seem more prone to suffer from rage syndrome, including Cocker and Springer Spaniels (hence the once-common terms – Spaniel rage, Cocker rage, and Springer rage), Bernese Mountain Dogs, St. Bernards, Doberman Pinschers, German Shepherds, and Lhasa Apsos.
A few widespread types of anti-anxiety medications used for treating dog aggression include Anafranil, Clomicalm, and Buspirone. For dogs with less extreme cases of anxiety, Buspirone is generally the go-to medication.
1) First get the "OK" from the owner! 2) Hold out your hand, fingers closed, palm down, slowly toward the dog. Allow the dog to approach your hand and sniff it. 3) Wait for the dog's "OK." If he wants your affection, he will lower his head, perk ears, or even come closer to you.
Punishment should not be used to correct undesirable behavior. Some pets may see it as a form of reinforcement, while others will become increasingly more fearful or aggressive. Punishment focuses on stopping the undesirable but does not teach what is desirable.
It's possible to handle a dog's aggressive behavior through careful management. For example, walking them with a muzzle or keeping them away from other dogs or whatever their triggers might be. But the more triggers a dog has or the more unpredictable their outbursts, the more you will need to manage their existence.
Holding the puppy firmly and resisting the temptation to let go of it when it squirms to be released minimizes later aggression and dominant behavior. A puppy's teenage years begin when it is around 8-9 months old and ends when the pup is about 19-20 months old.
Never ever ever punish a dog for growling. The end result will be that the dog goes right from the ignored visual cues to biting without that important vocal warning. Dogs have a right to communicate they are uncomfortable with certain things they are exposed to.
A dog's aggression can lead to a bad outcome if your dog bites someone. The good news is that a growl or snap is your dog's way of communicating a waning—and your dog is choosing to warn you instead of biting.
Stop whatever it is you're doing or the person/animal eliciting the growl is doing. If you know that your dog growls right before a bite, then move away and get safe. If you know the growl doesn't mean a bite is imminent, stop what you are doing.
The best thing a pet parent can do when their dog has escalated aggressive behavior is to remove the dog from that situation or remove the trigger that the dog found threatening. If you're the reason the dog is directing the aggressive behavior, step out of sight.
The behavior associated with Rage Syndrome includes outbursts of aggression that are intense and at times unpredictable. These episodes also tend to be large dramatic responses relative to a seemingly benign situation. Affected dogs often freeze, stare, and may rapidly escalate to biting.